Morning Dance

Morning Dance
Studio album by Spyro Gyra
Released	March 1979
Recorded	1978
Genre	Jazz fusion, smooth jazz
Length	39:36
Label	MCA
Producer	Jay Beckenstein, Richard Calandra
Spyro Gyra chronology
Spyro Gyra (1978) Morning Dance (1979) Catching the Sun (1980)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Morning Dance is Spyro Gyra's most commercially successful album, released in summer 1979. The song "Morning Dance" was a major hit (Billboard #24 pop, #1 adult contemporary) in summer 1979. The album cover of Morning Dance had concept origination, design and art direction by Peter Corriston with an illustration by David Heffernan. The package design was nominated for a Grammy award.

Track listing and personnel

1. "Morning Dance" (Jay Beckenstein) - 4:11
   • Jay Beckenstein: alto saxophone
   • Jeremy Wall: electric piano
   • John Tropea: electric and acoustic guitar
   • Jim Kurzdorfer: bass
   • Ted Reinhardt: drums
   • Rubens Bassini: congas and percussion
   • Dave Samuels: marimba and steel drums
2. "Jubilee" (Jeremy Wall) - 4:31
   • Jay Beckenstein: alto saxophone
   • Jeremy Wall: electric piano and synthesizers
   • John Tropea: electric guitar
   • Will Lee: bass
   • Steve Jordan: drums
   • Rubens Bassini: congas and percussion
   • Randy Brecker: trumpet solo
   • Dave Samuels: marimba
3. "Rasul" (Jeremy Wall) - 3:57
   • Jay Beckenstein: soprano and tenor saxophone
   • Jeremy Wall: acoustic and electric piano
   • Rick Strauss: guitar
   • Jim Kurzdorfer: bass
   • Ted Reinhardt: drums
   • John Clark: French horn
4. "Song for Lorraine" (Jay Beckenstein) - 3:59
   • Jay Beckenstein: soprano saxophones
   • Tom Schuman: electric and acoustic piano
   • Chet Catallo: guitar
   • Jim Kurzdorfer: bass
   • Eli KoniKoff: drums
   • Gerardo Velez: bongos, congas, percussion
   • Suzanne Ciani: synthesizers
   • Lani Groves, Diva Gray, Gordon Grody: vocalists
5. "Starburst" (Jeremy Wall) - 4:50
   • Jay Beckenstein: tenor saxophone (intro)
   • Jeremy Wall: electric piano and synthesizers
   • John Tropea: guitar
   • Will Lee: bass
   • Steve Jordan: drums
   • Rubens Bassini: congas, timbales, percussion
   • Michael Brecker: tenor saxophone solo
6. "Heliopolis" (Jay Beckenstein) - 5:34
   • Jay Beckenstein: alto saxophone, boobams, percussion
   • Jeremy Wall: electric piano and synthesizers
   • John Tropea: guitar
   • Will Lee: Bass
   • Steve Jordan: drums
   • Rubens Bassini: congas, timbales, percussion
   • Dave Samuels: marimba
   • Tom Schuman: Rhodes solo
7. "It Doesn't Matter" (Chet Catallo) - 4:27
   • Jay Beckenstein: soprano saxophone
   • Tom Schuaman: electric and acoustic piano
   • Chet Catallo: guitar
   • Jim Kurzdorfer: bass
   • Eli Konikoff: drums
   • Suzanne Ciani: synthesizer
   • Jeremy Wall: synthesizer
   • Gerardo Velez: congas
   • Lani Groves, Diva Gray, Gordon Gordy: vocalists
8. "Little Linda" (Jeremy Wall) - 4:27
   • Jay Beckenstein: alto saxophone
   • Jeremy Wall: electric piano, acoustic piano, percussion
   • Rick Strauss: guitar
   • Jim Kurzdorfer: bass
   • Ted Reinhardt: drums
   • Rubens Bassini: bongos and percussion
   • Dave Samuels: vibraphone
9. "End of Romanticism" (Rick Strauss) - 5:00
   • Jay Beckenstein: soprano saxophone
   • Jeremy Wall: electric piano
   • Rick Strauss: six and 12-string electric guitar
   • Jim Kurzdorfer: bass
   • Ted Reinhardt: drums
   • Dave Samuels: marimba
   • Tom Schuman: synthesizer solos
   • John Clark: French horn

Horn Section

• Jay Beckenstein: alto saxophone
• Michael Brecker: tenor saxophone
• Randy Brecker: trumpet
• Tom Malone: trombone
• Lew Del Gatto: flutes

Horns arranged and conducted by Jeremy Wall; except "Heliopolis" by Jay Beckenstein

Strings

• Harry Lookofsky: violin
• Matthew Raimondi: violin
• Harry Cykman: violin
• Charles Libove: violin
• Alfred Brown: viola
• Charles McCracken: cello

Strings arranged and conducted by Jeremy Wall

Synthesizer programming: Larry Fast

References